The Art of CarnageNothing But the Clouds Unchanged: Artists in World War I

Book review of Gordon Hughes' and Philipp Blom' Nothing But the Clouds Unchanged: Artists in World War I.

Abstract: -

Excerpt:

While 27 plates from the exhibit are reproduced in Nothing but the Clouds Unchanged, the book's focus is actually on artists who fought in the war - and survived. Most of the plates - cartoons, woodcuts, etchings, magazine covers, lithographs, pen and ink drawings, photographs and medallions - reveal the various sides of the war, but only one - Fernand Léger's Cover of Blaise Cendrars, J'ai tué (1918) - is the work of a featured artist.

Because the volume is focused on examining how the war subsequently affected the lives and art of artists who were soldiers, it does not feature those who died, including important artists such as Franz Marc and Umberto Boccioni. It does include Käthe Kollwitz, who encouraged her younger son Peter to enlist in the German army, only to be haunted by his death a few weeks later.